Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-08-20
LIFE AMONG THE MExiCAys.
The Government Gone Into the Livery stable Business-Funera's by Horse- Car. Panteons and Burial Customs. A Queer "Fair for the Dead"

n Hueer -f ar Tor the Deau.
 MEXICO. July 25th. 1887.
 In this country the livery y-sts5le busi- ness is conducted on 8 scale Of much greater magnIhcence than ever at the north. Tbe patrons thereof, being all of one elass-the extremely wealthy. who are ss fond O. display as they are vain and proud-entertsin the utmost contempt for cheap things and insist upon the very finest eQuipages. Not only must the carriages b3 uDhol-tere ID silk, satin, Or plush, with plenty of piate glass aad gold or silver trimmings, but the driver and footman who accom- paDy !. must be Grrayed ID livery more gorgeous than was ever seen on the oth- CT side ef the Rio Grande.
 Of course these aabobs have carriages of their own, and hvered servants ad infnituE. and condesoend 70 hired con veyances only when asay from home, or Co meet the exigencies of too much oom- pRny. It is not uncommon among the creme de ls creme of the Mexican cspi- tai, for one family to own hall doEen or more turn-outs, of various styles, each with its especisl drIvsr and foot man in distinctive lIvsries. These great cssss. which frequently house regular family of forty or fifty peTsons-not in cluding seTysnts-offer hospitality Dn the same generous eoale and are often crowded with company" Then the livery stables are lherally pstronIzed, for ID this land of lsnguor nobody walks, yOu know. but poor folks and plebeSn Americans; and the igvOrite amusement, ss well as 6 most imperative duty, js the sunset drive on the fashionable bOul6- yard.
 Fortunate indeed Is the foreigner who finds himself the honored guest of some naughty HIdalgo belonging to the first families" of this miscslled republi0l
 Roy sltY could scarcely dc nore for him n the line of mplCOUE entertain ment; and though to that end the shek- els ilow like water. he meet feel no cOIn- | pune ions of conscience for the sxirRvA- gans habits of the host of his class in ihus dispensing the "cirou.aiing me dium," which they posses ID uDsquan- dsisOle quantities alone keeps the ma iJuiy from actual starvation.
 Speaking of muniticaDt hospitality, am reminded of the famous Count de Esgla-Senor Don Pedro E nero de TerEsros-ths old time Mezicau bonanza slng. Until he happened 10 strike it 5ioh" in silver mining, be wss plain Pe- Ger TerIeros. with Bu sooeut ia his speech ELioh spoke strongly of the. Emerald | Isle. When by fortunate accident be suddenly found himself too nch to com ru.e hIs income, he abandoned hIs hum |. Il T.-ra.Ial .rs sancies which furnished his neIghbors vith more fables than Croesus If old. think 1t was in the year l762 that be reached the heighth of hIs wonderful ioriune, through the Santa BrIgs1a shaf; ot the Real del Monte mine. About ihis time bis son, the last count. was | chTistened; and to fitly celebrate the event. Don Pedro had tbe path between | us house and the church. (s considers- tls distsnce) paved with bars Of solid diver, over which the party walked!
 His worthy wife, whom rumor said | tad srst been seen couteDtedly laviD g | 'ae family lin6B, nOg Waxed 70 arIstO- | .ralic that the earth could scarcely hold | ter. When first biOssomed into the | Countess de Terrerps. shs proceeded to ! iuarrel with sud ''eut" the vice-queen, 1 SLo, as representative direct of Spanish royalty, had long re eived the abjeci | homage ot everything Mexican. Later, ! desiring to placste her Ligh1ess tor. per. haps, to humble her pride siiil faf therl | ,he Countess sent her G costly olive branch ia the shape O, sst'n slipper,eB. | tirsly covered with the most magnificent | diamonds, its toe stuffed full of pearls | spd emsraid-a neat little bundle, worth | . million or so, with which to amuse 6 summers' morning!
 That same year the Count de Reglt | invited the King of Spain to visit hit | Mexican possessions, Bs his the Counts | xuests, and assured hIm. by way of iu- | ducenent, that the feet of his majesty and all his train, and even the hoofs oi | his ho ses, shall tread upon nothing | more base than ingots of solid silver all | the WAY from Vera Cruz hRrbOr to the | City of Mexico. (sbout 264 milesJ, that | his royal feet should nos touch the ground during all his stay m the New | World, but always precious metal; thai every room m which he lodged should be rooted and walled with silver, and every dish and utensil used by himseli | aud suite should be or purest gold.
 Whether the kInR looked upon thii | munificeut offer as mere brRggadOcio. | do nos know; st any rate he did no
 come. but soon put the De Regli
 wealth to proof by requesting the losr | of a few million pesos, which, 1t is need less 10 add, were never returned. Int uudaunted Count followed up his glf by causing to be built, at his own ex- pepse, ID Havana, two ships of the line of largest tonnage, Rll of richest ma hogany and c, dar. which be presented to the sovereign.
 But to return to our subject. Beside the lvery-stables, which are confined t'
 the largest cities where families of gres
 weath reside. there are in every Mexican
 town many hacks. carriages. coupes
 vIctorias, barouches, etc, which aru
 -ealIy owned and run by the govern
 ment, and whose price is fixed by law. Tt
 secure them you do not send to 8 stable
 for nobody to know where they are kept
 but look for them ID the streets. In tn
 capital alone there are 2JO of these pub
 lie conveyances. ranking officially 8
 those of the first, third aud fourtl
 class. Their "class" IS distinguished b.
 ,mall tin signs, in the form of a tisI
 stuck up i'll front; those of the tirst-clss ! oaipted green, the second blue, thirt
 led and fourth white. This legslize,
 tariff is respectively g., Sl, I5 cents ant % cents per hour, sXceDt before si' o'clock a. ID. and after 10 o'clock D
 m., and on Sundays aod all feast days
 when the price is doubled; and ss fiesta
 are of everyday occUrreEce, one ma,
 safely calculate upon what % pay. Mos of them are delhpidRted old rsttle-traps
 n imminent peril of going to pieces ol these wretched pavemeuts, like tn lGeacon's one-horse chbisr, snd as rul there is little difference iD them excep in the color of the flag. With custom sry pride, Americans usually insist upo the most expensIve-foOlsbly, however
 .or the flag Is immediately hauled dow
 ss soon as the vehicle is engaged and nc
 body can guess what you pay Tor It.
 Besides the cOschmrD. each csrrlsg furnishes footmBn without additions
 charge, though the proper thing IS
 give the unbargsined for Gppenda2e
 shilling. The footmsn IS called a mos'
 and acts as 0 sort of apprentice or pr
 vBte secretary to the eocaero, or drivel
 On entering vehicle, the psssenge Sho does not wish to be svlndled shout request of the driver hls bolets, or iicke upon which is printed the number the carriage and it's lawful tarlff. The the moso rushes of to the nearest cloc N wwNUn